1.30.2012

The Monthly Maker feature came out today! The Canada Arts Connect Magazine column celebrates independent Canadian artists and their work. Each month they introduce a new Monthly Maker (MM) who will share their skills, advice, goals and quirks with readers. Each MM will offer either a tutorial or deal specifically for CAC readers.

I am Ms. January! Be sure to read the article and comment - you could win one of my Valentine's Day goodie bags!

And definitely let me know if you try the tutorial. I tried to make it easy and straight-forward.

Big thanks to my buddies Marlene and Sylvia who are part of the Langara Art Auction - I donated a piece of furniture which led to the MM feature.

And another big thanks to Laura Nguyen for a great article on TBD! Laura rocks!

1.29.2012

I took the plunge and started on the off-white finish this afternoon. I also sanded and added some tung oil to the top. It was a perfect day for working on furniture - it was grey and super wet out! The legs I picked up at the dump look so much better now that they've been painted. I'll tweek the paint next weekend then shabby chic the cabinet.

I also penciled in the triangles. I'll work on painting them next weekend. I'm going with an overall off-white finish with grey, black, robin's egg blue, mustard yellow and then some triangles will be natural wood.

Here's the cabinet thus far. I think the off-white is definitely working!

I've been struggling. Yup it's true. I want to finish my cabinet but haven't really felt 'it' lately. Fear of failing or something. So I've been looking for ideas for the finish... I know I want to keep some of the wood au natural. I also want to add some colour. And then I want to use either a light grey or off-white for the overall finish since that would make the cabinet, especially the legs, look uber clean.

So then how do I finish it? I have tons of vinyl for stenciling or blocking out colour. Really I'm good to go.

Here are the things that are giving me some inspiration...

Lucy Turner

Lucy Turner customizes and transforms mid-century furniture. This is my favourite piece she's done so far. I love the mix of natural wood and bright colours...

Pinterest Love

I haven't spent too much time on Pinterest but sometimes you find some uber lovely stuff. This was pinned by Poppytalk via the blog, Mokkasin. I love the design of the duvet cover. So do I go with an organic shape or geometric? Either way I can infuse colour and can leave some of the shapes as the natural wood. Either could work!

Fabric as Inspiration

I have a ton of fabric that can help for design and colour ideas. Especially Ikea fabric!

Love these colours - orange, green and blue with a splash of pink!

Pyrex & Houseware Funkiness

I'm most likely going to use the cabinet to 'feature' my Pyrex collection. Fun designs and happy colours... This is what I'm hoping for with the finish.

Now I just need to bite the bullet and make it happen. I actually was leaning towards a finish like the Lucy Turner chest of drawers but now I think I should go geometric. I have nothing with a geometric finish so might be nice to have something a little different from all of my other furniture.

1.21.2012

I finished up my goodie bags this week plus wrote the tutorial with step by step instructions on how to make your own. Look for the Monthly Maker feature via Canada Arts Connect Magazine soon. As part of the feature and tutorial, I'll be giving my goodie bags away.

Here's the goodie bag using my grey wool sweater...

Next step was to add some yummy treats to go in the bags. I bought this stash from a local chocolate shop called Cinnamon's Chocolates.

Here are the finished goodie bags with the treats in them. Hope they find a good home!

Project Update

Today I started rethinking my stencil design for the finish to my cabinet. I need something simpler that will fit with the cabinet.

I found a few sites and photos that were truly inspiring. Some days you gotta love the Internet and all the kewl stuff you can find! This is my new blog love - Designamour.

1.16.2012

My goodies bags are nearly done... I have one complete and will have the other one done tonight. A bit of buttonhole stitching and I'm good to go!

They are sugary sweet! It's great working on pieces for kids - lots of fun, bright colours! And even funner when it's goodie bags for Valentine's Day!

Here's the one using felted grey wool from an upcycled cardigan...

And here's the one using a felted multicoloured wool from an upcycled sweater...

Tonight I'll write up my tutorial to coincide with the Monthly Maker interview. And today I'm picking up some super yummy chocolate from Cinnamon's Chocolates on Lonsdale in North Vancouver. I've decided to give the goodie bags plus chocolate away as part of the interview. Why not?! Pass on the love... And really I ate the chocolate I initially bought for the goodie bags - I don't want to eat any more! Best to create then give away. Love that!

1.15.2012

And the weekend is here! Yay! Yesterday I worked on my cabinet and today I'll work on my craft tutorial. Yesterday was one of those days with a big success and then a mini failure. It's all good. Trial and error is par for the course with DIY. Or atleast that's been my experience.

The plan was to get my shelf supports added then I could insert the shelves. I went to Rona on Friday and got some scrap plywood cut. Each shelf cost me $2. Plywood is pretty inelegant but I'm painting the shelves so figured it would be A-OK.

My Dad helped with the shelf supports. We measured then drilled holes into the cabinet. I love drilling! Then when we had everything measured, holes drilled and double checked that the shelves would sit level, I removed the shelf supports and added wood glue. First step was to glue the shelf supports. Second step was to add the screws once the glue was dry.

Once the shelf supports were in, I inserted the shelves. The cabinet is slowly but surely coming together!

After the shelves, I used some wood filler to fill in the gaps where the legs are. Not a big deal since I'll be painting this piece but thought it best to make this part look seamless.

And then I moved onto the reverse stencil. This is where the fail happened! I started prepping the vinyl and realized my design was way too complicated! I love the idea of the reverse stencil but need something simpler.

I even thought of drawing a design directly onto the cabinet. I'll just come up with something new this week then get it happening next weekend!

After the stencil frustration, I started to prime most of the cabinet. Not the sides or top since that's where the reverse stencil will be. I'm feeling hopeful that the final piece will look uber snazzy!

Jaunts Around Town

I was downtown on Thursday and checked out Chocolate Mousse Kitchenware on Robson Street. It's a very funky kitchenware store. Tons of kewl stuff!

I love this gift wrap. They had a bunch on sale and I thought of getting a couple of sheets. Maybe I could try decoupaging my shelves?! But then I decided against it for now. I could always paint a design onto the shelves if I want. I might keep them uber simple. We'll see!

They also had some fun drawer liners. Another thought for the shelves but none of the designs would have worked unfortunately.

Project Update

And today's task is to continue on with my crafty tutorial to coincide with the Monthly Maker interview. Here's where I'm at with my Valentine's Day goodie bags. I'll get sewing this morning then put them together. I bought some ribbon for the handles but it might not be thick enough. I may have a trip to Michaels in my future!

I had the Monthly Maker interview on Friday. It went well. Looking forward to reading it! Many kookie stories were told about visiting the dump, ripping apart wood pallets in dark alleys and the many injuries I've given myself.

1.11.2012

Yup - I'm excited about this weekend... Can't wait! I'm working on my cabinet. First stop is Rona. I'm hoping to find some left over wood that I'll get them to cut into pieces for me. I want 2 shelves for my cabinet. Then I'll add the shelf supports. The cabinet will be built then...

Next step will be prepping the reverse stencil I'm adding. That'll take awhile but well worth it!

I'll also be working on my crafty tutorial for the Monthly Maker feature. I'm making Valentine's Day goodie bags for kids. Here are my supplies...

I should have a start on the reverse stencil for my cabinet and then the tutorial should be complete this weekend. It's due Wednesday so I'll get it done early. The interview is this Friday. Pretty nifty to be featured in an online arts magazine! Yay!

Recent Finds

My latest thrift store find are these wooden cars. They were $0.25/each. Someone must have spent a bunch of time making these! The thrift store had a box of them. I was good - I held back and only bought four.

I'm going to sand these a bit then add a coat of primer. And then I'll pick some bright colours for them - maybe baby blue, turquoise... They'd be great in a boy's room as a display piece. Or I guess for playing. Who knows!

Not sure when I can work on these. Such a deal-o-rama though. Funny the things you can find in a thrift store!

1.07.2012

Lots of kewl things began to happen in December... I booked my trip to England/Ireland and I was approached for an interview from an online arts magazine focused on featuring Canadian talent. I'm super excited about my trip and traveling to London and then throughout Ireland on my own. I'll be staying with relatives then doing some mini trips. And then the feature - it's a Monthly Maker interview and I'll be writing a crafty tutorial to coincide with the feature. Pretty nifty!

So 2012 is looking pretty FAB so far! I also feel rejuvenated and ready to get things happenin' again! Not that I stopped but balance is not something I'm very good at it.

Project Update

Today I finally assembled my cabinet. I got out the drill and got to work... Kind of stressful since I didn't want to mess it up!

First step was to measure where I would drill the holes...

Once I drilled the holes, I added the screws...

Then I lined up the top with the middle piece...

Once the top and middle were assembled then I could add the bottom...

So here it is... The top, middle and bottom are now assembled. Tomorrow I'll add shelf supports then I can add a finish next weekend. I won't have shelves to slide in for a bit but everything else will be done soon enough.

Crafty Tutorial

I wasn't too sure what to do for the tutorial to coincide with the feature but thought it needed to be something Valentine's Day related. I needed something that was straight-forward, that used easily accessible materials and was within my realm of craftiness.

My ideas included a gift card holder, a felt applique photo frame, a wine bag or a kids goodie bag. I've decided to go with a heart-shaped kids goodie bag. I'll use an upcycled wool sweater, felt and ribbon. I might make 2 - one with grey wool and one with some super colourful wool.

I picked up some supplies from Michaels this afternoon - white and pink felt, some embroidery floss and some ribbon.

I love the ribbon! The goodie bags are going to be uber cute!

Hope everyone is feeling the 2012 love! It's going to be an amazing year!

Denise Corcoran (aka Thrifty By Design) is a local author, crafter, upcycler and workshop facilitator based in North Vancouver, BC. Her passion is to turn 'junk' into new and funky pieces. She shares her enthusiasm for crafting and upcycling by facilitating 'Crafternoons' throughout Vancouver.